Tatiana, 9, thought Nikki's hard shell and scaly legs were cool to touch, but there's another animal she dreams of seeing someday.

"A liger," she said. "It's a cross between a lion and a tiger."

Tatiana and her Live Oak classmates didn't get to see a liger, which does exist as the offspring of a male lion and a female tiger, but not at Micke Grove Zoo.

However, they did get a tour of the zoo, a chance to learn about animals, and a close encounter with Nikki the tortoise along with a western screech owl and an African pygmy hedgehog.

It's all part of Micke Grove Zoo's day-camp program open to area Title I schools this week, paid for by the Cortopassi Family Foundation.

Title I schools are those with a high population of socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

"A lot of these kids have never been out of their neighborhoods, let alone to a zoo," said Micke Grove Education Specialist Kristy Benner. "It's a good opportunity for them."

Live Oak teacher Greg Dahlem said the children were excited on the school bus as they approached the zoo. The field trip will double as both science and language arts lessons. The students will write about the trip along with learning about animal science, he said.

The half day of zoo activities focused on mammals, birds and reptiles. The lesson children learned about Nikki the tortoise was about how she is different from a turtle.

Education specialists taught how a tortoise has a bumpy shell, "elephant legs" and lives on land. Turtles have smooth shells with webbed feet, or "flipper" legs. They spend a lot of time swimming.

"I just like it because we get to learn about the animals and the environments they live in," said Dalton Kutzen, 9.